Functional equivalence of names

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It is possible that Kjær thought that the more ‘tough’ translation would be a better fit for Ursula’s personality. However, he must also have felt that Danish children would be able to handle hearing a swearword in this situation – especially because it was only a weak one. As mentioned in section 2.5.1., children often enjoy it when taboos are violated, so this could be another reason why Kjær decided to make the Danish version a tad more interesting.

4.3.5. Partial conclusion

Generally, the Danish translation of the idioms is quite easy to understand for children. In many of the instances where the English dialogue is relatively complex, the Danish translation is more simplistic or explanatory, which indicates the use of a domestication strategy (cf. section 2.5.2.) or, in other words, target text orientation. However, there are also some cases where the translation is more difficult to understand than the English dialogue, but there is, for the most part, a good reason for using the more difficult words. For instance, medtaget (example 29) is explained almost immediately after being uttered, and skalmeje (example 30) may be foreign to many, but it is a fun word that fits perfectly with the ambience of the song.

Although translation for children is generally subject to censoring of ‘unsuitable’ elements, it has not affected The Little Mermaid to a noticeable extent. The main reason for this may be that the original version of the film has already been targeted at children, so there is not much that needs modification. On the contrary, Jesper Kjær seems to have felt that the film could do with a sharper edge when he inserted a swearword into Ursula’s song (example 31).

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4.4.1. Non-translation, reproduction, copying

The majority of the names in The Little Mermaid have been transferred directly, which means that they have not been translated at all (cf. section 2.6.2.1.). The following list contains the names that have not been modified at all in the Danish translation:

 Ariel

 Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella, Alana

 Diana

 Louis

 Max

 Sebastian

 Triton

 Ursula

 Vanessa

 Dinglehopper

As mentioned in section 2.6.1.4., it can turn out to be problematic to change the name of the main character in case the story will spread across different languages. This could be part of the explanation for letting Ariel keep her name in the Danish version. However, as it is easy to pronounce in Danish and it does not have any obvious connotations, there was really no reason to change it. The same applies to the rest of the above names except Triton. Triton is the name of the messenger god of the sea in Greek mythology (Greek Mythology), so his name does have some connotations. However, in Greek mythology, his name is also the same in both languages, so whatever connotations it may have in that connection will be the same in both versions of The Little Mermaid.

I have put dinglehopper at the bottom of the list, because it is not a character name, but it is still relevant to the translation of names, as it is a made-up word that Scuttle uses to describe a fork. It would seem that Edward Fleming thought that the word would have the same creative function in a Danish context as it did in the original version of the film, and therefore it did not need any modification.

4.4.2. Replacement by a counterpart in the target language (exonym)

As explained in section 2.6.2.5., some names exist across different languages, but they are sometimes written and pronounced differently.

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 Eric  Erik

 Gertrude  Gertrud

These two names have Danish equivalents, where the spelling is slightly different, but the changes are so minor that they are hardly noticeable. However, some Danish viewers might have found it odd if these names had been transferred directly, especially if they were using subtitles. Although, even if Eric had not been adapted to the more common Danish name Erik, it is unlikely that it would have caused much confusion or wonder among Danish viewers. In this case, only the pronunciation really matters, because the main target audience is not likely to watch the film with subtitles anyway.

4.4.3. Replacement by another name from the target language (substitution)

Although this strategy is often used by substituting a real person in the source culture with another real person in the target culture, it can also be used with the names of fictional characters, as illustrated by the below examples:

 Carlotta  Laura

 Mildred,  Karen

 Rachel  Maria

 Glowerhaven  Knuthenborg

These names were presumably considered too foreign for Danish children, so they were replaced with some other names that would be more familiar. It is arguable whether or not some other substitutions would be more suitable, since these pairs are not very similar. For instance, Carlotta could easily have been replaced with Charlotte, which is a common name in Danish that is much more similar to Carlotta.

When Eric tries to guess Ariel’s name (because she could not tell him due to the loss of her voice), he guesses Mildred, Diana and Rachel and Ariel’s reaction to Mildred is obviously not positive, as her facial expression shows in Appendix 13. Therefore, the translator needed to find a name in Danish that would evoke the same reaction, and evidently Karen was chosen. According to Statistics Denmark (2016) (cf. Appendix 14), relatively few people were named Karen in Denmark in 1989 when the film came out. However, since Diana was used nearly the same number of times, it is difficult to tell from these numbers which name was more or less popular. Maria was evidently

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very popular, which makes it an appropriate substitution for Rachel, which is a very common name in the United States.

Glowerhaven is a fictional place and the home of a princess that Eric once met and decided not to marry. This name is not natural in the Danish language, so some form of adaptation was necessary.

Interestingly, Fleming decided to translate it as Knuthenborg which is a real place in Denmark. It was originally a Danish count’s estate, but has now been turned into a safari park with exotic animals (Den Store Danske, 2011). Danish children who have visited the park are likely to think of it when they hear this line, and they may or may not be aware of the park’s history as a count’s estate. If they do not know Knuthenborg at all, there is no problem, but it may cause some confusion to children who have visited the safari park. Thus it would perhaps have been better to make up a new place that was more similar to the original Glowerhaven instead of referring to a real place.

4.4.4. Translation (of names with a particular connotation)

As mentioned in section 2.6.2.8., the translation strategy means that the name’s specific connotation is translated directly into the target language.

 Flounder  Tumle

The direct translation of the verb to flounder is at tumle and it means to splash about or struggle either physically or metaphorically (Gyldendals Røde Ordbøger). The name Flounder is thus an appropriate name for the clumsy and nervous fish that he is, and the exact same connotations apply to Tumle.

4.4.5. Replacement by a name with another or additional connotation

As mentioned in section 2.6.2.9., it happens surprisingly often that translators add to or change the connotations of particular names instead of translating them directly, as the previous example illustrates. In The Little Mermaid this was the case with the following names:

 Flotsam & Jetsam  Bundslam & Skidtslam

 Grimsby  Onkel

 Scuttle  Skralde

 Snarfblatt  fløjtehorn

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Flotsam & Jetsam are the names of the moray eels that accompany Ursula and spy for her. The two words are often used together to describe people or things that no one wants (The Free Dictionary).

This expression comes from the terms flotsam and jetsam in the maritime world, which refer to two kinds of debris from vessels. Jetsam is deliberately thrown overboard while flotsam ends up in the sea by accident (National Ocean Service, 2014). The metaphorical meaning is successfully transferred to their Danish names Bundslam & Skidtslam, because slam [sludge] is also something that is usually unwanted. In addition, the final syllables in both the English and Danish versions sound alike, which makes the translation successful even though the literal meaning of the English names is not transferred to the Danish names.

Grimsby is Eric’s loyal confidant and personal adviser, and he is always by his side. In the Danish version, however, he is suddenly his uncle (Onkel), which makes their relation even closer. It is possible that the name Grimsby would have some unfortunate connotations to Danish children, since grim means ugly in Danish, but it does not explain why he and Eric are suddenly related to each other. It would have been possible to find a suitable name in Danish, but perhaps Edward Fleming decided that it would make sense if Grimsby were Eric’s uncle precisely because they are already very close. For viewers of the Danish version, who do not know his original name, it seems perfectly natural in the context.

Scuttle is usually an English verb that means to run with quick steps or to sink a ship deliberately by making holes in it (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries). These connotations match the personality of Scuttle the seagull well, as he is a bit clumsy, even though it is unlikely that he would ruin something deliberately. In the Danish version, his name is Skralde (the English translation of skrald is trash, garbage, etc.). This means that the connotations are quite different in the two languages, but Skralde is not necessarily inappropriate, as he is a seagull, and they tend to be quite interested in garbage in case they can find something edible in it.

Snarfblatt, like dinglehopper, is a word that Scuttle makes up to describe a pipe. When describing it to Ariel, he claims that it is a musical instrument like a flute, but when she tries to blow into one later in the film, only soot comes out of it and no sound. The motivation behind the creation of this word is quite interesting, because it has some surprising connotations attached. Snarf, especially in North American English, is a verb that means to eat or drink something very quickly or in a way that people think is greedy (Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries). To blat is American slang for someone who is talking very fast without content, in other words to prattle or gabble etc. (Gyldendals Røde

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Ordbøger). While this reckless behaviour might be descriptive of Scuttle himself, it does not describe the pipe in any way, so Fleming presumably thought that instead of finding a close Danish replacement to the difficult word snarfblatt, it would be better to find a simpler word that described what Scuttle actually thought was the purpose of it. Therefore be came up with fløjtehorn [flute horn], which is really just a fun way of saying fløjte [flute]. In this way, he removed the original connotations, but underlined some other connotations that were also quite relevant.

4.4.6. Partial conclusion

Overall, the Danish names of the characters maintain the same function as in the English version.

Most of the main characters’ names have been transferred directly, which avoids any confusion in the translation. The names that have specific connotations also have functional equivalence, even if the connotations are changed in the translation process. For instance, Scuttle has different connotations than Skralde, but the fun and creativity remain. The names are also similar in expression, because they both begin with s followed by a  sound and they have the same number of syllables.

The names that cause the most confusion are Grimsby  Onkel, Glowerhaven  Knuthenborg and snarfblatt  fløjtehorn. Both Onkel and fløjtehorn make sense in isolation, and child viewers of the Danish version will not hear the English originals. Knuthenborg is therefore the name that is most likely to cause confusion because of its connotations to a Danish safari park. However, as it is only mentioned in passing, and the story quickly moves on, it is not that much of a problem.

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